Reading

Click the picture to explore the children’s reading journey at Normanby Primary School:

Curriculum Statement – Reading

At Normanby Primary School we want children to enjoy reading, develop a love of books and develop the skills needed to read fluently, and with both understanding and confidence.  We believe that reading is an important life skill and we are dedicated to helping pupils become lifelong readers.   

Planning for Progress 

There are two distinct but related processes involved in teaching children to read: learning to read words and developing language/reading comprehension. Both are essential for learning to read.  Statutory requirements for the teaching and learning of Reading are detailed in the English Programmes of Study for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 (2013), and in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2017).  Letters and Sounds is the preferred scheme for the teaching of phonics at Normanby Primary School.  Staff use these documents to plan in the long, medium and short term.   

In FS1, a love of reading is developed through stories and staff begin to teach Letters and Sounds to small groups based on the children’s attainment. Children are introduced to daily Phase 1 activities which develop oral blending and segmenting in readiness for FS2. On entry to FS2, children continue to be taught phonics daily in small groups and begin to read phonically matched books.  Some books will include tricky words. Reading for enjoyment books are also sent home to develop a love of reading and oral storytelling.  Our expectation is that children will be taught Phases 2, 3 and 4 of Letters and Sounds in FS2.  

In Year 1, children continue to be taught phonics daily using the Letters and Sounds phonics scheme.  We expect our Year 1 children to cover Phase 5 of Letters and Sounds. Children take home phonically matched books to practise sounds they have been taught.  These books also include tricky words.  Reading for enjoyment books are also sent home to continue a love of reading and oral storytelling.  In Year 2, reading comprehension is developed through Whole Class Reading lessons.  Children begin to take home colour banded books, which start at purple, when they are ready.  Children who did not pass the Phonics Screening check in Year 1 receive further phonics intervention and continue to take home phonically matched books appropriate to the phase they are learning.  In Year 3 to Year 6 reading stamina and comprehension are developed through Whole Class Reading which is taught twice weekly using the structured VIPERS (Literacy Shed) approach.   Children read and take home colour banded books until the end of Year 4.  In Year 5 and 6, children read and take home books from Accelerated Reader.   

High Expectations for All 

In all classes, there are children of differing reading ability and attainment.  We recognise this fact and provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child.  In EYFS and Year 1, phonics groups are organised based on the children’s attainment.  Staff use the revisit, teach, practise and apply model when introducing new phonemes.  Work is differentiated to provide appropriate challenge and teaching assistants work with groups and individual children to consolidate learning and deliver targeted interventions.  In Year 2 to 6, children are taught Whole Class Reading in mixed ability groups.  Teaching assistants provide support within lessons and help to provide challenge for a range of pupils.   

At Normanby Primary School, we strive hard to meet the needs of children with special educational needs, disabilities, English as and additional language and children with particular strengths or talents.   When progress falls significantly outside of the expected range, a child may be identified as having special educational needs.  Assessment processes look at a range of factors – classroom organisation, teaching materials, teaching styles, learning styles and differentiation – so that we can take some additional or alternative actions to support pupils and help them to learn more effectively.  Interventions for children with special education needs are specified on SEND Support Plans.  The Support Plans may include specific targets relating to English.   

Promoting Reading and Parental Involvement 

A love of reading is promoted throughout school.  Staff work closely with parents and carers in the Foundation Stage to ensure children take home story books from an early age, and reading is rewarded through certificates and prizes.  Staff in the Foundation Stage invite parents and carers into schools to watch how phonics is taught and to find out how to support their children with early reading skills.  Staff in Y1 continue this by holding phonics meeting for parents and carers in the spring term to provide information about the Phonics Screening Check. Staff also meet individually with the parents of children who require additional support with phonics.  At the welcome meetings at the start of each academic year, staff share the school’s expectations for reading and the requirements of the National Curriculum.  The school’s English Lead also holds information sessions, at times throughout the year, to help parents and carers support their children with reading comprehension.     

When the children begin KS1, they receive a reading record that is shared between home and school.  Parents, carers, children and staff use the reading record to record when the children have read to an adult either at home or school.  Staff monitor the records and children are entered into the half termly whole school Reading Raffle when they have read twenty times.  During the half termly Reading Raffle, tickets are drawn from cohort boxes and winners are allowed to choose a book or magazine of their choice. 

School has recently developed a Literature Spine to ensure children are accessing high quality, engaging and challenging texts across all stages of school.  Books from the spine provide a stimulus for many aspects of the work in English lessons oral storytelling, writing and, as the children become older, whole class reading.  A termly author study in each year group allows children to develop a greater understanding of the works of different authors, different authors and classical texts.  Each week, staff communicate key texts and authors the children are reading with parents through Marvellous Me. 

Children look forward to the annual World Book Day in March each year where they engage in creative activities relating to the books they are reading in class.  Regular book fayres, hosted by Scholastic and the Book People, provide a welcome opportunity for parents to buy books for their children to read at home at markdown prices; and staff sell books on non-profit book stalls in the lead up to Christmas to encourage parents to buy books for their children. 

Standards and Attainment 

The standards of children’s work, attainment and the quality of teaching in Reading are the responsibility of the English Lead, Phonics Lead and Head Teacher. Termly standards meetings in school provide a useful opportunity for staff to present data and share success in a forum where leaders are able to ask questions and provide ideas to action as a way of supporting teaching and learning further. Progression in knowledge and understanding is ensured through careful transfer of information during transition discussions and moderation of work to clarify expectations and standards for children at different levels of attainment.  

Staff use a range of Assessment for Learning strategies, and both formative and summative assessments to monitor pupil progress in reading and plan next steps.  On entry to 2-Year Old and FS1, staff assess the children during their first thirty hours in school.  Staff make a judgement of the children’s attainment in all Early Learning Goals in relation to age related expectations. Exit assessments are completed by FS1 staff at the end of the year. Staff make regular assessments of children’s phonic knowledge to enable them to plan interventions and track pupil progress over time.   These assessments are continued in Year 1 as children move through the consecutive phases of Letters and Sounds.   

In Year 1, reading is assessed using the National Phonics Screening Check. The check assesses a pupil’s ability to decode a variety of real and alien words correctly.  If a child does not meet the required standard in Year 1, they will need to do the assessment again at the end of Year 2.  Results are shared with parents in the summer term.  In the summer term, children in Year 2 complete Statutory Assessment Tests (SATs) in reading.  Teacher assessments are used to assess the children’s level of attainment and to determine whether children have met the expected standard.   Results are shared with parents in the summer term. At the end of Year 6, children are expected to reach the expected standard in reading.   During the summer term, all children in Year 6 are expected to complete Statutory Assessment Tests (SATs) in reading. Results are shared with parents in the summer term, and with receiving secondary schools as part of the transition process. 

In Year 5 and 6, the children complete termly STAR reader assessments on their iPads and take quizzes on books they have read from Accelerated Reader. NFER Reading Tests are used across Key Stage 1 and 2 in the autumn and summer terms.  The assessments reflect the style and challenge of the national curriculum enable teachers, and the school’s English Lead, to monitor progress and attainment over time.  In addition, termly intervention grids are used across Key Stage 1 and 2 to monitor the progress of pupils over time in reading and writing.  When the progress of children causes concern or begins to slow down, teachers work with the English Lead to plan short term interventions to close gaps and accelerate their progress.  

Ensuring High Quality Teaching and Learning 

All staff have access to high quality and relevant professional development opportunities both in school, through inset training, and through external providers.  The school’s English Lead also provides regular training opportunities in school to support parents with aspects of reading so they feel more confident helping their children at home.  The school’s English Lead and Senior Leadership Team work together to regularly monitor the quality of teaching and learning in lessons and books.  English Leaders and teachers within the Ironstone Academy trust work together to share practice, raise attainment of all children within the Multi-Academy Trust, moderate work and ensure consistency across the schools. 

Learning Environment 

There are a number of reading areas around school that inspire reading and provide comfortable seating for children to enjoy books with their friends.  Bookcases offer a range of fiction, non-fiction and topic books relating to research areas studied in each year group.   In many of the corridor areas and classrooms, there are reading displays.  These intend to celebrate books the classes have already read, or inspire the children to read books recommended on the Literature Spine or ones written by particular authors they have or may be studying.